Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day to honor transgender victims who have lost their lives due to transphobic violence for simply being who they are. The week leading up to this day, know as Transgender Awareness Week, is a week-long celebration filled with advocacy for the transgender community and used as an opportunity to raise awareness and educate others concerning issues about the transgender community itself.

“Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day where we keep the beautiful transgender people who were tragically killed in mind and remember who they really were and spread a positive message about them,” Megan Kay ‘21 said. “I am a cis woman so I [do not] know the struggles that transgender people go through, but I do love and support everyone that I can.”

For City High students, events like Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance are important to them as such events give recognition to transgender students or those struggling with their identities and help them to feel more represented in their community.

“I don’t believe the transgender community receives enough recognition, it should get so much more love and appreciation but it doesn’t because people are too scared of backlash or their minds haven’t caught up to the world yet,” Kay said. “I think this day is important to the trans teens at City because it can show them that there are so many people who support them no matter what gender they identify as, even in Iowa.”

Lack of representation of the transgender community at City High and in many high schools across the nation continue to be a concern for students who are part of the transgender community as there hasn’t been a proper way to educate other students about issues transgender students face, indicating as to why events like Transgender Day of Remembrance are so important.

“I think the event isn’t very well represented,” Kay said. “Yes we have a non-gender bathroom and we have [Homecoming] “royals” but so many people abused that last year and made fun of gender non-conforming, non-binary, or gender fluid [people]. Trans people may be more comfortable using they/them pronouns. Gender is so confusing and I feel like the school just made fun of that in a way.”

Events like Transgender Day of Remembrance have shown to be of great value to those who are apart of the transgender community as it allows students to express themselves and their identities while also advocating for issues within their community.

“I hope that people who are part of the trans community can look and see how much they are appreciated by so many people. And yes, it can also be a very tough day because there have been so many horrible things happening to wonderful people. But I’d like to think the people who have passed would want us to carry on their voice,” Kay said.